The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Living On A Narrowboat

It has to be
said that everyone has different views on this topic, and a lot of the
advantages and disadvantages of living on a narrowboat will differ from person
to person. What one person finds a problem another may embrace.

So let’s look
at what life on the waterways is like and the advantages and disadvantages.

Things To Consider If You Are Buying
A Narrowboat To Live On.

If you
are going to buy a narrowboat to live on; the bigger the boat the better is probably
advisable. It’s a well-known fact that storage and space is very limited on a
narrow boat so having as much space as possible is going to help overcome these
issues. If you are living on the boat as a family remember that everyone is
entitled to some privacy, so again a larger boat will help to give you more space.

Another
factor is the type of boat you have and the facilities you have on board. If
you are a family of four living on a 30 foot boat, space, privacy and
storage is probably going to be an issue. However if you have a larger boat
or maybe even a wide beamed boat, these problems will not be such an issue.

Having all
the mod cons on board will make day to day living very comfortable. In
todays modern narrowboats you can often expect to find washing machines,
fridges, showers, toilets and microwaves. Basically all the household goods
a traditional home has. The disadvantage of using these appliances on a boat
rather than in a traditional home is that you have to think about the electricity
you are using.

Think about where you will moor your boat. If you want to
live aboard full time, finding a residential mooring in the area you want to live isn’t always an easy task. However
if you intend to cruise long term this will not be a problem. You can
apply for a cruising licence and as long as you change your location every 14 days as
detailed by The Canal and River Trusts rules, you won't need a mooring. I guess the down side to
continuous cruising is; if you need to be in the same location for work or for school
commitments.

Another subject
that is often discussed amongst the boating community is the “loo topic”. No
matter what type of system you have on board you will need to manually remove
the waste from the boat by either carrying the cassette to a sanitation station
or using a pump out station. The other thing to bear in mind is, which system
you would prefer to have and maintain. This of course is not something you have
to do in a traditional home and therefore doesn’t need any consideration.

One of the
main advantages to start with is the freedom that boating offers, this
is one of the big attractions that draws people to boating. People who live
aboard tend to say they are escaping the rat race and starting a journey to a
more tranquil and a better way of life. The pace of life is slow and therefore
less stressful which can make for a happier lifestyle.

This leads on to mention that boating allows you to see many locations across the canal
network. Depending on boat size you can pretty much cover the whole
network (longer boats will find that certain areas are not passable as the
locks are too small to take the boats length) however there are plenty of
routes available to explore.

The
lifestyle is to be embraced; it’s a quiet and simple way of
living. Without the demands of day to day challenges faced by most, a
stress free existence. As mentioned space is limited which leads to a
simplistic way of living - you soon learn to live with only the material things
you really need rather than keeping up with the Jone's and buying for the sake
of it.

Although
there are maintenance costs such as blacking the hull, engine services,
general maintenance, moorings fees and licence fees etc. living on a
narrowboat can be cheaper than living on the land. The yearly costs of living on a boat of course depends on each
individuals circumstances.

Mooring
costs in London can be on the expense side and very hard to find, but having said that, it may still
be cheaper to moor a boat in London than to buy a house there!

Boating and
cruising demands a certain amount of fitness. The locks aren’t going to open
themselves, the coal isn’t going to walk on board and tying up the boat isn’t
going to be done by itself. So doing normal daily chores aboard you will be keeping fit
and active which could help to keep you in good health.

Embracing
and enjoying the outdoors and nature is another bonus of living on a boat. For
those who enjoy outdoor pursuits living on a boat enables you to fish, run and
cycle as if it was in your garden! And all that fresh air is bound to build up
a healthy appetite!

So let’s
see if the advantages outway the disadvantages mentioned in
this article:

Advantages:

All the mod
cons on board

Freedom

Slower pace
of life

Exploring
the canal network

Minimalistic
life style

Could save you
money

Being close
to nature

Being part
of a close knit community

Helps keep
you fit

Can visit many different locations

Disadvantages:

Space is
limited

Privacy can
be a problem

Having to think
about electricity usage

Emptying the
loo

Filling the
water tank

Finding
moorings

So there you
have it more advantages than disadvantages, so what are you waiting for your
dream boat is only a click away!